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Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva gets his wish of an immediate return as he faces former TUF Finalist Uriah Hall at UFC 198 on May 14th, 2016.
Looking For Redemption
After a stunning split decision defeat to Briton Michael Bisping at UFC Fight Night 84 last month, Silva asked the UFC to immediately book him his next fight, looking for redemption. Initially, Silva and his team wanted to face former Strikeforce Middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi, who fought and won in the same UFC London event that Silva headlined. But Mousasi refused to agree to a UFC 197 bout and instead asked for a latter date citing the need for enough preparation. With Mousasi unavailable, the UFC scrambled to find an opponent for Silva who was literally begging for a slot at UFC 198 because it will be held in his hometown of Curitiba, Brazil. Fortunately, Uriah Hall was available and was more than willing to step in against the greatest mixed martial artist of all-time.
Career-Defining Win
Nicknamed Primetime, Hall rose to prominence with his violent KO wins during the 17th season of The Ultimate Fighter. But after getting upset by Kelvin Gastelum in the finals, Hall has been in an up and down career that’s given him just a modest 12-6 record. After a huge TKO win over Mousasi at UFC Fight Night Japan last September, Hall faltered against Robert Whitaker at UFC 193 and lost via unanimous decision. With scattered success, Hall is in search of a career-defining victory that would propel him to stardom. Getting Anderson Silva for his next assignment will definitely be that opportunity for him.
Do or Die?
Whether we like it or not, Anderson Silva is in a do or die situation against Uriah Hall. He is 0-3 with one no-contest in his last four bouts. At age 40, Silva is no longer the unhittable wizard he used to be. After back to back losses to Chris Weidman and a major leg surgery, Silva has noticeably slowed. Against Bisping, he was criticized for his lack of a killer instinct, which enabled Bisping to recover and beat him in the end.
Silva will have to bring his A-game against Hall, who at 31 is an athletic monster who possesses the same KO prowess as the Spider. Silva has everything to lose in this fight and that’s what makes it more difficult for him. On the other hand, Hall has everything to gain against Silva and he does have all the physical advantages over his much older opponent. The key for Hall is not to be intimidated by Silva’s mere presence and mind games. Bisping showed that if one overcomes the mental game against Anderson Silva, then the physical part won’t be as difficult, although not easy either.
